The AP reports: Francisco Garcia scored 21 points, John Salmons added 17 and Sacramento beat the woeful Minnesota Timberwolves 118-103 Monday night in the Kings’ first game under interim coach Kenny Natt. A few hours after the Kings fired Reggie Theus and replaced him with Natt, the veteran assistant coach presided over one of Sacramento’s best efforts of the season against the Timberwolves, who lost their 10th straight. Brad Miller added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who had eight players scoring in double figures in just their second win in 12 games. Al Jefferson scored all of his 22 points in the first half for Minnesota in a meeting of struggling teams that both fired their head coaches in the past eight days. The Timberwolves dropped to 0-5 under Kevin McHale, who replaced Randy Wittman last week… Rashad McCants scored 21 points while Craig Smith and Kevin Ollie added 17 apiece for the Timberwolves (4-20), who haven’t won since Nov. 28.
Category: Sacramento Kings Blog
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Sacramento Kings fire coach Reggie Theus
The amount of head coaches being fired in the NBA this season is ridiculous. The Wizards fired Eddie Jordan, the 76ers fired Mo Cheeks, the Raptors fired Sam Mitchell, and now the Sacramento Kings have fired coach Reggie Theus.
Although the Kings are lousy this season, I don’t see how they were supposed to accomplish much with their current roster. Really, it comes down to Kings management simply not feeling that Theus is good or experienced enough to help the team grow any more than they have already.
The best player on the team is shooting guard Kevin Martin, but injuries have limited him to just nine games this season. He’s a scorer, and on 42.6% shooting is averaging 20.8 points per game, but just 2.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and a decent 1.22 steals.
John Salmons has been second on the team in scoring with 19.4 ppg on impressive 49.1% shooting. He also contributes 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.22 steals per game.
Point guard Beno Udrih is shooting an excellent 48.0% for 12.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.29 steals.
Rookie big-man Spencer Hawes, center Brad Miller, guard Francisco Garcia and rookie forward Jason Thompson are also all having decent seasons.
The Kings as a team? Not so great, but that was expected given the limited roster.
They’re average at scoring, but awful at defense, giving up 106.08 points per game, third most (worst) in the league. Their opponents are also nailing a very high 47.9% of their shots, also third worst in the league.
The Kings are the league’s worst three-point shooting team, connecting on just 29.3% of their attempts. And they’re the league’s worst team at defending three-pointers; opponents are nailing 43.1% of their threes when facing Sacramento.
The team also needs to rebound better.
But the firing of Theus isn’t about exact statistics, it’s about development, making the young players better and giving them big minutes, and getting along with upper management, and team brass no longer thinks the future is bright with Theus guiding the way.
Check the InsideHoops.com NBA rumors page for more stories on this.
Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this message board thread.
Dec 13: Knicks 114, Kings 90
The AP reports: Al Harrington made five 3-pointers and scored 33 points Saturday night, helping the Knicks beat the slumping Sacramento Kings 114-90. “(Harrington) is a guy who’s a shot-maker and plays solid defense,” said teammate David Lee, who dominated the inside with 17 points and 19 rebounds… Although the Knicks only used seven players for much of the game, it was so one-sided in the fourth quarter that even Jerome James earned playing time… After missing seven of the past eight games with a strained groin, point guard Nate Robinson had 19 points for the Knicks, who won their second straight and moved within a game of .500 at 11-12. Tim Thomas scored 11 points and Chris Duhon added 10 points and eight assists.
Dec 12: Lakers 112, Kings 103
The AP reports: The Lakers didn’t look like world beaters, but were good enough to beat the Kings this time. Avenging their loss at Sacramento three days earlier, Los Angeles survived a late charge to hold off the Kings 112-103 on Friday night. “We did better playing against them tonight,” said Kobe Bryant, who led the Lakers with 32 points… Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who built sizable leads several times only to have defensive lapses that let Sacramento back into the game… John Salmons, who led Sacramento with 26 points, expected Bryant to be determined in the rematch.
Joe Maloof suffered stroke
The Sacramento Bee (Ailene Voisin) reports (via blog): Kings co-owner Joe Maloof confirmed that he did in fact have a stroke last week. “Just a mild one, a mild one,” the Kings co-owner informed me. “I’m fine. I just have to get back to working out consistently, which I wasn’t doing because of my knees. But I’m so much better now. I’m coming back to Sac in a few days, and I’ll be around. I’m feeling so good now I can hardly believe it.”
Dec 9: Kings 113, Lakers 101
The AP reports: Francisco Garcia and John Salmons scored 21 points apiece, and the Sacramento Kings snapped an eight-game losing streak with a surprising 113-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Bobby Jackson added 15 points for the Kings, whose first victory in nine home games was one of the NBA’s most improbable results of the young season. Sacramento (6-16), which had lost 11 of its last 12 games overall, steadily increased a fourth-quarter lead against the Lakers, who couldn’t rally while Kobe Bryant struggled with 9-of-25 shooting. Bryant scored 28 points and Pau Gasol had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who had won three straight while opening the season 17-2, matching the best start in franchise history.
Dec 2: Jazz 99, Kings 94
The AP reports: Kyle Korver scored 15 points and Deron Williams had two key baskets in the final minute to give the Utah Jazz a 99-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. After Beno Udrih scored to put the Kings ahead by one, Williams, who had 14 points, responded with a layup and a jumper, putting Utah ahead 93-90. The Jazz made six free throws in the final 13 seconds to secure the victory, their third in four games. Ronnie Brewer scored 14 points and Paul Milsap had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Morris Almond added 13 points for the Jazz, who committed 25 turnovers… Brad Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds, Udrih scored 17, Spencer Hawes had 14 points, and Francisco Garcia added 11 for Sacramento.
Nov 29: Mavs 101, Kings 78
The AP reports: Sixth-man Jason Terry scored 24 points and the Mavericks pulled away in the third quarter to beat the Sacramento Kings 101-78 on Saturday night. One night after ending a five-game losing streak against the Lakers, the Mavericks won again on the road. Josh Howard missed his fifth straight game because of a sprained ankle, and Jerry Stackhouse was back in Dallas nursing an injured heel that has kept him inactive the last eight games… Dirk Nowitzki had 19 points and eight rebounds to help the Mavericks even their record at 8-8 with their sixth road win of the season. Reserve Devean George scored all 13 of his points in the second half. Beno Udrih had 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and John Salmons had 10 points for Sacramento. The Kings have lost six straight and nine of 10. The Kings also have dropped six in a row at home for the first time since 1998, two shy of the franchise record.
Nov 28: Jazz 120, Kings 94
The AP reports: The Jazz scored 44 points in the third quarter and beat the Sacramento Kings 120-94 on Friday night, getting 15 assists from Deron Williams in just his fifth game of the season. Williams, who missed 13 games with a sprained left ankle from the preseason, had nine assists in the third and then got to rest on the bench for the entire fourth as the Jazz reserves finished off the blowout… C.J. Miles scored 16 of his 18 in the third, including a dunk off an alley-oop from Williams during a 3-on-none break as the Jazz blew open the game after letting the Kings tie it at 50 at halftime… John Salmons led Sacramento with 20 points. Beno Udrih was the only other Sacramento starter to score in double figures… Mehmet Okur had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Utah. Paul Millsap, starting for Boozer, had 11 points and 11 boards. Reserves Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Price each scored 12. Spencer Hawes added 18 points for the Kings, who sent the Jazz to the foul line 34 times. Utah was 22-for-34 from the line while Sacramento went 9-for-12.
Kings hire Jason Levien as assistant GM
The Sacramento Kings today announced the hiring of Jason Levien to their Basketball Operations staff as Team General Counsel/Assistant General Manager, effective December 15, 2008, according to President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.
Levien’s primary responsibilities include drafting and management of players, coaching and management contracts, assisting in salary cap planning and analysis and overseeing team compliance with all NBA rules and procedures. He will also assist in scouting and report directly to Petrie and Vice President of Basketball Operations Wayne Cooper.
Levien, a former NBA player agent, represented more than a dozen NBA players over the past decade, guiding his clients through their careers which included navigating the NBA Draft process, free agency and contract negotiations. His clients included Luol Deng (Chicago Bulls), Udonis Haslem (Miami Heat) and the Kings’ Kevin Martin. In addition to negotiating Martin’s long-term extension with Sacramento in 2007, Levien negotiated the largest contract in Bulls’ history in July 2008.
“Jason brings a breadth of experience and expertise which will enhance the Kings Organization,” explained Petrie. “He is bright, knowledgeable and has an established network of resources which are valuable.”
Having traveled the globe evaluating basketball talent, Levien represented a number of international players drafted into the NBA and professional basketball players in more than 15 countries. He developed a reputation for finding talented players that were either overlooked or flew under the radar.
“I’ve known Geoff Petrie for the better part of a decade and there’s nobody in the basketball world that I respect more than him,” said Levien. “Geoff, combined with what I think of the ownership in the Maloof’s, who are incredible owners, passionate basketball fans and successful business people, made this opportunity unique and attractive. I’m looking forward to contributing in any and every way. This team has a lot of young, talented pieces and to be a part of the future was something that was very attractive and exciting to me. To go from the agent side of representing players to being a part of a team and organization is sort of an out of the box move, but it’s something I’m thrilled about.”
Levien has also spent time working in politics, including serving as the speechwriter for the Keynote Address at the 2000 Democratic National Convention and in The White House.
Levien is a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, where he was a member of the basketball team. He served as an editor of the Michigan Law Review while earning his law degree and master’s in public policy from the University of Michigan. Levien was later awarded a fellowship at Harvard Law School.